Elmer's Island open to public

A section of Elmer's Island that has been closed since Hurricane Isaac is now open, the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries announced this week.

Xerxes WilsonStaff Writer

A section of Elmer’s Island that has been closed since Hurricane Isaac is now open, the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries announced this week. The beach was closed as the storm approached and remained closed after Isaac exposed tar from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, said Julia Lightner of the state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. The open section includes the area at the end of the access road continuing half a mile east. The remaining closed area is the eastern portion and is marked.Nighttime access and fishing and on the beach remain closed, but daytime recreational fishing is allowed. Camping is prohibited. Road access to the beach will open 30 minutes before sunrise and close 30 minutes after sunset. The island continues to experience oiling and is still being cleaned up. The beach is being opened for access for a probationary period of 10 days. State officials will continue to monitor the shoreline for new oiling. Any sightings of oil should be reported to Wildlife and Fisheries at 800-442-2511 and the National Response Center at 800-424-8802.Officials also ask visitors not to cross areas covered with water as Isaac created washovers that can be covered during high tide.Fourchon Beach to the west of the island remains closed as it has been since the spill. Amanda Phillips, interim secretary treasurer for the Wisner Foundation, said the beach is still seeing heavy cleanup following Isaac. Workers have been auguring the beach, searching for new tar mats and removing others, Phillips said. The foundation owns most of the beach at Fourchon. The Caillouet Land Corp. also owns part of the land.“There is still oil all over the place,” Phillips said. Tar balls are still a common find in the beach’s sands, and workers recently began searching the shallow waters off the beach for oil, Phillips said. Lafourche Parish government is trying to obtain the beach for public access.The Parish Council recently appropriated $275,000 to the South Lafourche Beachfront Development Commission to offer to Caillouet for a 10-acre tract that would be open to the public.Commission Director Rickey Cheramie said his group will likely make the offer in March. Caillouet has repeatedly said it disagrees with the value of the land.When the offer is rejected, Cheramie has said the parish will move to expropriate the property.